Ableton Live 4.0 Beta available to all! (at last)

[Joxer the Mighty]

wow! i think it is the worst midi implementation i have EVER seen!

I think it's incredible! I'm able to get my ideas down QUICKLY! In contrast, I found Logic to be the most unintuitive sequencer I'd ever tried. My comments are completely good natured btw. Just goes to show you, we all have different ways of working and should be glad to have so many choices at our disposal. It really is a great time to be an electronic musician.

[kuniklo]

yes I am finding it hilarious INSTANTLY how many people have decided to just throw their other main sequencer out the window. sorry, but it's all initial excitment hype i reckon. live 4 is NO replacement for cubase or logic or sonar. no way.

It certainly is for me. The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. It probably depends a lot on what kind of music you make and how you like to work.

[meister eder]

Whilst everything should be sample accurate on playback, real time delay compensation breaks the law of causality and therefore is, always has been and always will be, impossible.

Huh? You claim a spanner in my works then argue the same thing?

You definitely got a point there!

[Mr. Slater's Parrot]

TTOZ wrote:

live 4 is NO replacement for cubase or logic or sonar. no way.

Gotta agree with that -- for my needs, anyway.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

[DELETED]

[DHR53]

...But you didn't say how many of those midi functions you use on a regular basis (that Live doesn't have)... I really always wondered who (if anyone) was using the stuff on that giant menu in SX and (smaller) one in Logic? I thought it was leftover from the hardware days?

[ObsoleteAcc99]

[DELETED]

[meister eder]

Whilst everything should be sample accurate on playback, real time delay compensation breaks the law of causality and therefore is, always has been and always will be, impossible.

Huh? You claim a spanner in my works then argue the same thing?

You definitely got a point there!

[headquest]

I would be very unhappy if I had already trashed or sold my copy of Sonar3!

This seems like an unexpected side effect of inclusion of midi functions in Live 4.Some people really do see it as a replacement for every high end sequencers out there even I thought so until I asked Ableton myself about PDC in Live 4.

I now see it as easily the best rewire application out there.

It is always interesting to read how people use the same application to acheive the smae results using different methods.Great

Hi christianmusicmaker... I hope you can help me here...

I've been chewing on how Live4 will fit into my workflow, and I note your comments above.

I have Live2 (how old hat! ) which I have just been using as a "fun" standalone application. My main workflow presently revolves around Tracktion (host) and Reason (Rewire slave). They seem to me to make a perfect pair, making up for each others weaknesses and complimenting each other's strengths (a bit like me and my mrs! )

I know lots of people use Live/Reason together as a similarly perfect match... but as you know from previous posts I'm not parting company with Tracktion just yet!

So how are you using Live/Rewire? As a host or slave?

I've spotted that you use both Tracktion (I think) and Sonar 3... These all look a bit like hosts - as increasingly does Live4. Can you enlighten me about how your workflow uh...works.

While sticking by Tracktion and Reason (coz they're such a lovely couple) I certainly plan to use Live4 in a more serious way than I have Live2. And I've been wondering about Sonar as well (though I'm not sure if there's a point, but again, I think you may be the person to enlighten me on this one!)

Also do you use other apps in the mix? (e.g. Reason/FL Studio/Project5/ or an audio editor...)

Thanx in advance

[Rellik]

So, uh...

Does this beta expire when the normal version is released?

If not, .

If so, oh well, so much for that.

I'll try it out soon. And thanks, thread-starter, for pointing this out!

EDIT: well never mind, it expires in 2 days =( I might as well just uninstall it now.

[drez]

EDIT: well never mind, it expires in 2 days =( I might as well just uninstall it now.

They keep releasing betas until its done. There will be overlap between the beta expiration periods and there will be overlap with the last beta and the release.

This keeps them pushing out new betas and helps the beta users testing the fixes. I've been testing since Live4 beta1 and its been great!

[WillieJenkins]

yeah! b11 is the first one I've used that feels preeeeety close to release ready

[christianmusicmaker]

So how are you using Live/Rewire? As a host or slave?

I've spotted that you use both Tracktion (I think) and Sonar 3... These all look a bit like hosts - as increasingly does Live4. Can you enlighten me about how your workflow uh...works.

While sticking by Tracktion and Reason (coz they're such a lovely couple) I certainly plan to use Live4 in a more serious way than I have Live2. And I've been wondering about Sonar as well (though I'm not sure if there's a point, but again, I think you may be the person to enlighten me on this one!)

Also do you use other apps in the mix? (e.g. Reason/FL Studio/Project5/ or an audio editor...)

Thanx in advance

Hi there…I am using Live 3 as a rewire slave into Tracktion. If I choose to use purely loops for a song (as I have so many) then I will put the song together in Live 3 (great fun doing this) then rewire into Tracktion for mixing and mastering as it has a very quick and smooth workflow if I am using just loops and audio clips.

I can also time stretch in Tracktion very easily and can happily bring even a 130bpm sample or higher down to 70bpm and still avoid artifacts (alt drag) not possible in Sonar. That kind level of change in BPM will introduce artifacts in Sonar.

Live 3 is better still, for timestretching as it does it in real time as I put the song together. I use loops at all sorts of tempo's and use the re -pitch setting in Live 3.

I really like to experiment…Tracktion and Live 3 encourage this in a big way. Creativity can really flow.

Tracktion for audio only projects (loops) … extreme time stretching, and 32bit projects and export.

Midi only projects...

Sonar.

I have Project 5 as well which I mainly bought for the rather tasty plugs that can all be used and accessed without the need to even rewire Project 5, (superb).

Project 5’s environment is simply made for creativity as far as midi goes and I still use P5 from time to time but I always use the P5 plugs along side the Sonar plugs inside Sonar (no rewire of P5).

FL studio also makes an appearance in my studio as well,it is an extremely quick way of coming up with different ideas and uses a version of Ultrafunk EQ and even has a version of the Sonitus single band compressor.

You can also download about 2 GB of content and if you buy FL. Also an online purchase gives you updates for life. Check it yourself, although that may have changed.

FL is unique in that it is the only one out of the Reason , P5 , FL trio of soft studio’s, that allows me to save my work in a soft studio with my host project, unlike Reason and P5 that insist on saving in their environment leaving you with a rewire master copy of your project and a rewire slave copy , needless for me.

FL avoids this duplication by being a rewire master/slave/DXI and VST so it comes in very handy in my projects and has some nice synths to use as well.

Sonar is a very deep application which I have used for a year almost and I am still discovering things in it! 600+ page manual.

I also have Vsampler as my main sampler. It is a massive programme truly huge! I bought the full version which is a VST/ DXI/ Rewire standalone host as opposed to the DXI OEM version in the Producer edition of Sonar.

I have the Studio edition of Sonar.

If you are EU based you are likely to pay more than US customers and miss out on special offers in the States…consider this very carefully, outside of that I would say wait for Sonar 4 and get the top end package… the Sonar forum is so busy and full of very helpful people…even the founder and owner Greg Henderschott posts from time to time which is a good thing.

I also picked up a copy of Music studio 2004 it really is…

=Samplitude lite + Logic lite

The sound quality is superb and the plugs are the same found in Samplitude professional /classic and sequoia bar just a few!

I use this as my wave editor…kind of like Soundforge or Wave lab.
It cost me £50

Summary…

Audio only projects (loops, riffs e.t.c)
Live 3 rewired > Tracktion + (FL runs as a VST in Tracktion) Console wraps the DX FX + DXI’s from Sonar and Project 5 for use in Tracktion...lovely.

Midi only projects
Sonar + all the P5 DXI’s and DX FX
Sonar’s VST adapter wraps all my VST’s.
FL runs as a DXI and will save FL environment in Sonar’s project file no need to save in FL and Sonar.

Reason adapted (very nice freebie with my Firewire audiophile) for midi experimentation.

Mastering: Ozone.

If you are going to get Live 4…Stefan from Ableton told me that PDC is not an issue *if* you use the only the plugs that come with Live 4 so I suppose for me that is one way around it, should I choose to go that route. I think my son will be very pleased to pick up a free copy of Live 3 if I choose Live 4!

If you are considering Sonar wait for v.4 it may be out by October this year.

I hope that answers your questions.

Loki over at the Sonar forum made a very accurate description of Sonar and Live I think he said that Live is more suited to creation while Sonar is more suited to processing (mixing and mastering)

You...as well as others may see this differently.

[meister eder]

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[WillieJenkins]

Loki over at the Sonar forum made a very accurate description of Sonar and Live I think he said that Live is more suited to creation while Sonar is more suited to processing (mixing and mastering)

This is pretty much my take on it also.

With Live4, I can pretty much kick all other 'host-type' programs out the door, the Live4 + Sonar3 combo shall be my final configuration